Isaiah 38:9-20
New American Standard Bible
9 This is a writing of Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and [a]recovery:
10 I said, “(A)In the middle of my [b]life
I am to enter the (B)gates of Sheol;
I have been (C)deprived of the rest of my years.”
11 I said, “I will not see the Lord,
The Lord (D)in the land of the living;
I will no longer look on mankind among the inhabitants of the world.
12 Like a shepherd’s (E)tent my dwelling is pulled up and removed from me;
As a (F)weaver I (G)rolled up my life.
He (H)cuts me off from the loom;
From (I)day until night You make an end of me.
13 I composed my soul until morning.
(J)Like a lion—so He (K)breaks all my bones,
From (L)day until night You make an end of me.
14 (M)Like a swallow, like a crane, so I twitter;
I (N)moan like a dove;
My (O)eyes look wistfully to the heights;
Lord, I am oppressed, be my (P)security.
15 “(Q)What shall I say?
[c]For He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done it;
I will (R)walk [d]quietly all my years because of the (S)bitterness of my soul.
16 Lord, (T)by these things people live,
And in all these is the life of my spirit;
[e](U)Restore me to health and (V)let me live!
17 Behold, for my own welfare I had great bitterness;
But You have [f](W)kept my soul from the pit of [g]nothingness,
For You have (X)hurled all my sins behind Your back.
18 For (Y)Sheol cannot thank You,
Death cannot praise You;
Those who go down (Z)to the pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness.
19 It is the (AA)living who give thanks to You, as I do today;
A (AB)father tells his sons about Your faithfulness.
20 The Lord is certain to save me;
So we will (AC)play my songs on stringed instruments
(AD)All the days of our life (AE)at the house of the Lord.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 38:9 Lit he lived after his illness
- Isaiah 38:10 Lit days
- Isaiah 38:15 Targum and DSS And what shall I say for He
- Isaiah 38:15 Or slowly
- Isaiah 38:16 Lit You will
- Isaiah 38:17 As in some ancient versions; MT loved
- Isaiah 38:17 Or destruction
Isaiah 38:9-20
Christian Standard Bible
9 A poem by King Hezekiah of Judah after he had been sick and had recovered from his illness:
10 I said: In the prime[a] of my life(A)
I must go to the gates of Sheol;(B)
I am deprived of the rest of my years.
11 I said: I will never see the Lord,
the Lord in the land of the living;(C)
I will not look on humanity any longer
with the inhabitants of what is passing away.[b]
12 My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me
like a shepherd’s tent.(D)
I have rolled up my life like a weaver;(E)
he cuts me off from the loom.(F)
By nightfall[c] you make an end of me.(G)
13 I thought until the morning:
He will break all my bones like a lion.
By nightfall you make an end of me.
14 I chirp like a swallow or a crane;
I moan like a dove.(H)
My eyes grow weak looking upward.
Lord, I am oppressed; support me.(I)
15 What can I say?
He has spoken to me,
and he himself has done it.
I walk along slowly all my years(J)
because of the bitterness of my soul.(K)
16 Lord, by such things people live,(L)
and in every one of them my spirit finds life;
you have restored me to health(M)
and let me live.(N)
17 Indeed, it was for my own well-being
that I had such intense bitterness;(O)
but your love has delivered me
from the Pit of destruction,(P)
for you have thrown all my sins behind your back.(Q)
18 For Sheol cannot thank you;
Death cannot praise you.(R)
Those who go down to the Pit
cannot hope for your faithfulness.
19 The living, only the living can thank you,
as I do today;
a father will make your faithfulness known to children.(S)
20 The Lord is ready to save me;
we will play stringed instruments
all the days of our lives
at the house of the Lord.(T)
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.